"They remain in talks with Daniel Cleary and Damien Brunner...Brunner is looking for around $2.5 million...in a multi year deal."

Man, if that's true, there is absolutely no excuse to not sign him. 3, 4, 5 years, its doesn't matter. $2.5M is peanuts, if Brunner doesn't work out and becomes Leino 2.0 he can still be easily traded/bought out because its such a tiny cap hit.

"If I can be totally honest, it's not a lot of guys you get impressed by. Actually, it's no one else but him. From the bench, to see what move he makes -- you're like, 'I wish I could do that.' Sometimes you sit on the bench and just think, 'wow,' and you look over to the other bench and they sit there and shake their heads, too. He has great, great skills. I'm probably not going to play with another player who has the kind of skills he has." Mikael Samuelsson on Pavel Datsyuk

Man, if that's true, there is absolutely no excuse to not sign him. 3, 4, 5 years, its doesn't matter. $2.5M is peanuts, if Brunner doesn't work out and becomes Leino 2.0 he can still be easily traded/bought out because its such a tiny cap hit.

July 5
Dallas signs Brunner 5 years/15 million.
July 6
Columbus signs Filppula 5 years/22.5 million.
July 6
Holland signs Cleary 4 years 12 million.
October 5
Holland says we like our team.
April 2
Holland says that if Bertuzzi, Sammy, Helm, Eaves, and Franzen can all get healthy, it will be like landing 5 UFA's.
May 14
The Red Wings get bounced by the Maple Leafs.
May 19
Holland announces his intentions to begin talks with Samuelsson and Ericsson.
July 5
Ericsson signs 5 year/25 million deal with San Jose.
July 6
Holland resigns Samuelsson 2 years/5 million.

July 5
Dallas signs Brunner 5 years/15 million.
July 6
Columbus signs Filppula 5 years/22.5 million.
July 6
Holland signs Cleary 4 years 12 million.
October 5
Holland says we like our team.
April 2
Holland says that if Bertuzzi, Sammy, Helm, Eaves, and Franzen can all get healthy, it will be like landing 5 UFA's.
May 14
The Red Wings get bounced by the Maple Leafs.
May 19
Holland announces his intentions to begin talks with Samuelsson and Ericsson.
July 5
Ericsson signs 5 year/25 million deal with San Jose.
July 6
Holland resigns Samuelsson 2 years/5 million.

"The Wings do have offers out to all of their own three UFAs Valtteri Filppula, Daniel Cleary and Damien Brunner but all three are expected to cross into the free market Friday. Filppula is out of the picture for the Wings, anyway, because he believes himself to be a No. 1 center. Cleary is looking for a three-year contract around $3 million per season, and he has garnered interest from almost a dozen other teams. The Wings remain hopeful of working out a deal because Cleary rebounded from a slow start to have a great playoff stretch, he brings leadership and hes beloved by coach Mike Babcock. Likewise, Brunners camp has been contacted by several suitors, but the Wings remain hopeful of retaining his services, too."

"The Wings do have offers out to all of their own three UFAs Valtteri Filppula, Daniel Cleary and Damien Brunner but all three are expected to cross into the free market Friday. Filppula is out of the picture for the Wings, anyway, because he believes himself to be a No. 1 center. Cleary is looking for a three-year contract around $3 million per season, and he has garnered interest from almost a dozen other teams. The Wings remain hopeful of working out a deal because Cleary rebounded from a slow start to have a great playoff stretch, he brings leadership and hes beloved by coach Mike Babcock. Likewise, Brunners camp has been contacted by several suitors, but the Wings remain hopeful of retaining his services, too."